Pneumatic conveyer



(No Model.) -2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

H. JONES;

PNEUMATIC CUNVEYER. No. 596,211. Patented Dec. 28,1897.

(No Model.) 2 Sh.eets-Sheet 2. S. H. JONES. PNEUMATIC UONVEYER.

No. 596,211. Patented 1m. 28,1897.

Attest: I Inventor. Mm in M $4 0M,

NITED TATES SAMUEL H. JONES, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

PNEUMATIC CONVEYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 596,211, dated December 28, 1897. Application filed May 15, 1897. Serial No. 636,634. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL HOWELL J oNEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Pneumatic Oonveyers, fully described. and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to an improved apparatus for discharging, by means of compressed-air pressure, refuse or other comminuted matter from scows or suitable receptacles, into which the latter is loaded for transportation.

While the apparatus described and illustrated herein is designed chiefly for discharging the contents of scows loaded with garbage from cities, I wish it to be understood that the invention is applicable to other uses and is not therefore confined to that referred to specifically herein in the particular apparatus to be described.

The present invention consists, essentially, in an air-tight chamber having lateral doors for the introduction of the scoW or other receptacle containing the matter to be unloaded, means for maintaining therein an air-pressure materially in excess of that of the surrounding atm osphere,and a dischargepipe leading from the interior of said chamber with flexible end portion within the latter to enable it to reach all parts of the inclosed receptacle containing the comminuted material.

The invention includes also an agitator at the inner end of the discharge-pipe for throwing up the material preparatory to its being carried through the discharge-pipe by the outflow of air from within the chamber.

The invention will be understood by reference to the annexed drawings, in which- Figure l is a transverse sectional view showing an apparatus embodying my improvement in a narrow creek while in the operation of discharging garbage from a scow contained therein. Fig. 2 is an elevational View showing the structure in longitudinal section and containing a loaded scow, one of the doors at the ends being represented in its closed position and'the other open. Fig. 3

is a plan View of the apparatus. Fig. 4 is an elevation of the inner end portion of the discharge-pipe upon a larger scale than the preceding figures, partly in "transverse section, where hatched; and Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the same with a portion of the housing of the gearing in section.

The air-tight chamber A is provided at the ends with the lateral doors B, suspended, by cords C with counterweights WV, from pulleys P within the vertical transverse pockets A, extending upwardly at the opposite extremities of the chamber A. The edges of the doors B are beveled inwardly to fit correspondingly-beveled seats D in the inner sides of the door-frames, against which they are retained by the air-pressure within the chamber A when the apparatus is in operation. To prevent leakage around the edges of the doors, a packing of suitable yielding material may be applied to the door-frame for closing the joints.

Pontoons T are provided upon opposite sides of the chamber A for affording the-buoyancy necessary to float the latter and are in practice provided with means for admitting and expelling water for varying their buoyancy, as required. Such means are not, however, shown herein, as they form no part of the present invention.

The apparatus is shown provided with a rotary pump F for supplying compressed air to the interior of the chamber A through an inlet-pipe G, its pulley being connected by a belt H to the fly-wheel pulley of a steam-e11- gine G. A steam-boiler I supplies power through the steam-pipe I for actuating the engine.

The discharge-pipe O for the refuse passes from the interior of the chamber A through one of its side Walls outward the required distance and may be sustained at intervals above the ground by suitable supports J.

The inner portion of the discharge-pipe O, or that portion inclosed within the chamber A, is preferably formed in several telescopic sections, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 4, and the joint at the wall of the chamber is made of similar character to permit the free movement of the inner end to all parts of the scow. A telescopic elbow-joint affords the requisite flexibility for varying the angular relation of the inner and outer portions of the dischargepipe, while the telescopic character of the straight portion within the chamber A permits of the necessary variations in the length of such portion to enable it to traverse all parts of the chamber.

The inner extremity of the pipe 0 is pro vidcd with a handle 0' for convenience in guiding the same when the apparatus is in operation and with a counterbalance, comprising the cord M, connected thereto at one end and passing over pulleys M. at the top of the chamber and terminating in the counterbalance-weight M A caster N is applied to the under side of the discharge-pipe at the inner end to sustain its weight and to render it capable of being easily moved by the use of the guiding-handle O.

In order that the particles of refuse may be readily sucked into the mouth of the discharge pipe by the current of air forced through the same from the chamber A, the inner end of such pipe carries two rotary agitators, each comprising a hub a, with radial arms ct mounted upon the ends of spindles s slightly in advance of the extremity of the pipe, said spindles being provided upon their opposite ends with gears b, meshing with a gear 0, encircling the pipe. A housing It forms an annular wearing-surface for the gear 0 and bearings for the spindles s on each side of the gears 12 and for a drivingshaft (Z, carrying a gear (,2, meshing with the gear 0. This drivin g-shat't is made in telescopic sections to correspond with the pipe 0, by which it is carried, and is provided adjacent to the wall of the chamber with a flexible joint, the outer section, which penetrates the wall, being provided with a pulley external to the latter connected to a pulley upon the engine-shaft by a belt 0.

In operation the structure is moored near the land upon which the refuse is to be deposited and one or both of its doors raised into its respective pocket to admit a scow S, which is then introduced, after which the doors are lowered adjacent to their seats D. The engine G being now started up to actuate the pump F and force air into the chamber, the increase of pressure in the latter causes the doors B to be thrust against their seats to effectively seal the joints at the ends of the chamber. The requisite pressure being attained within the chamber A, the discharge-pipe O is depressed from its normally elevated position to the top of the refuse upon the scow, when the rapidly rotating agitators a a, deriving their motion from the engine through the shaft d, throw up particles of the refuse at the mouth of the pipe 0, to be drawn into the same by the strong current of air, finding an outlet from the chamber through the same, the particles thus carried out being deposited beyond the outer end of the pipe 0 upon the ground, as indicated in Fig. l.

\Vhile the garbage when originally collected along the streets of cities is not well adapted for treatment directly by the apparatus described above, itis common to remove therefrom such matters as would be likely to clog or choke the discharge-pipe 0 prior to loading it upon scows for disposal, so that the present improvement is adapted for discharging the contents of the scows as thus loaded.

It is obviously immaterial to the essential feature of the invention how the refuse is presented to the mouth of the discharge-pipe 0, whether by the agitator shown and described herein or by a hopper at the inner end of the pipe into which the refuse matter may be shoveled, the essential feature of the improvement being the air-tight chamber A,with doors in the side or sides for admitting receptacles loaded with refuse, means for supplying the same with compressed air, and a discharge-pipe leading from the interior having a freely-movable inner end.

It is evident that any suitable type of pump and means for actuating the same may be adopted andthat in the preferred form of the improvement illustrated the agitators (of any suitable construction) at the mouth of the discharge-pipe may be operated by any convenient means and independently of the motor for driving the pump, if preferred.

It will be observed that the apparatus described above is well adapted for operation on land, loaded carts being driven into the airtight chamber in lieu of the floating vessels mentioned above. The provision of lateral doors permits the read yadmission of anyof the large receptacles commonly employed in the transportation of the refuse matter, for which the present apparatus is specially designed, such as boats or carts, and thereby renders the apparatus practically independent of the size and class of the receptacle employed in collecting the matter to be transferred, from which such matter can be directly removed by means of the discharge-pipe. Al1-100kS may obviously be provided in such case to permit of the maintenance of the pressure in the chamber for unloading a number of such carts in succession without the loss of the initial pressure between the successive operations.

In order to prevent the loss of air through the discharge-pipe during the rising of the pressure within the chamber to the desired extent preparatory to beginning the operation of unloading, the mouth of such pipe may be closed by the application of a flat plate for covering the same, or the pipe may be provided with a suitable valve. Such feature, being no part of my present invention, however, is not illustrated in the drawings annexed.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An apparatus for transferring comminuted material, comprising an air-tight chamber, lateral doors for the introduction of the receptacle containing the material to be transferred, means for supplying the chamber with compressed air, and a discharge-pipe with freely-movable inner end leading from the interior of said chamber and adapted to reach all parts of the said receptacle for the removal of its contained material, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. An apparatus for transferring comminuted material, comprising an air-tight floating chamber, lateral doors for the introduction of the receptacle containing the material to be transferred, means for supplying the chamber With compressed air, and a discharge-pipe with freely-movable inner end leading from the interior of said chamber and adapted to reach all parts of the said receptacle for the removal of its contained material, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. An apparatus for transferring comminuted material comprising an air-tight chamber with doors for access thereto, means for supplyingthe same with compressed air and a discharge-pipe with freely-movable inner end leading from the interior of said chamber, and an agitator projected in advance of its inner end, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. Anapparatus for transferring comminuted material comprising an air-tight floating chamber with doors for access thereto, means for supplying the same with compressed air and a discharge-pipe with freelymovable inner end'leading from the interior of said chamber, and rapidly-rotating agitator-arms projected in advance of its inner end, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. An apparatus for transferring comminuted material comprising an air-tight floating chamber having a door-frame formed with a door-seat upon the inner side, a pocket above said door-frame and in direct communication with the interior of said chamber, a door adapted to fit said door-seat and suspended from within said pocket and movable vertically in and out of the same adjacent to said door-seat, an air-pump for supplying said chamber with compressed air and means for actuating said pump, and a dischargepipe with freely-movable inner end leading from the interior of said chamber, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. An apparatus for transferring comminuted material comprising an air-tight floating chamber with doors for access thereto, means for supplying the chamber with compressed air, a discharge-pipe formed of a series of telescopic sections with freely-movable inner end leading from the interior of said chamber, rotary agitator-arms mounted upon spindles and projected in advance of its inner end, an extensible shaft carried by said discharge-pipe and connected with said spindles, and means for actuating said shaft, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SAMUEL H. JONES. Witnesses:

ELMER E. VRooM, HENRY J. MILLER. 

